H.R. 2896

To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the "Judge Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office Building"

Sponsor	Rep. Payne, Donald M.
Date	July 23, 2012 (112th Congress, 2nd Session)
Staff Contact	Sarah Makin

On Monday, July 23, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 2896, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage.  H.R. 2896 was introduced by Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) on September 12, 2011, and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

This legislation would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the "Judge Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office Building."

Tolentino served 26-years as a Hudson County judge distinguished her as the first African-American woman judge at the Jersey City Municipal Court, the first African-American woman appointed to a judgeship at the New Jersey State Superior Court, and was the only African-American woman in her graduating class at Seton Hall Law School.

Tolentino worked her way through Seton Hall University School of Law at nights while holding down a job as a high school Latin teacher. She was appointed as a judge in the Jersey City Municipal Court system in 1976 and five years later was elevated to the presiding judge of the court.

Judge Tolentino passed away on October 31, 2010, at the age of 67.

According to CBO, any costs related to new post office designations, which include the cost of changing the name on the building, signs, and maps, are not significant.